When I first started my blog, I felt like I was an emerging writer who wrote for the sake of writing. I carved out a niche for myself on the Internet to write about my passions and express myself and suddenly I had gained a massive readership and following. All the positive affirmation made me feel empowered to keep writing.
It’s that same empowerment that fueled me to later quit my blog to spend my days drifting around town in my 2012 Honda Civic screaming out of my window to anyone who will listen.
Being in charge of anything creative is exhausting and blogging isn’t a gig that’s meant to last forever. When I started taking blog breaks, I didn’t realize that I would one day declare my blog dead. You never know when you’re gonna spend your very last day doing the thing you once loved. Thank gosh I still have my indispensable First Amendment Right to freely shout my societal commentary and personal narratives at pedestrians and bystanders.
It’s not the literal act of blogging that’s hard – it’s monetizing a blog that’s a nightmare. Getting involved in banner ads, affiliate links, and all that landing page jargon took me out of it. The balance of deciding to write popular, buzzy posts to gain a wider readership vs. what feels truest to me literally zapped my creative edge and forced me to get in my car, gently roll down the windows, and call some strangers “problematic” while driving through a red light and honking.
It’s apparently a misdemeanor criminal offense, but also 100% worth it.
The internet has conditioned us to become fatigued quickly. At first I blamed myself and my writing quality for losing readers and interest. But if I couldn’t get people to keep visiting my website, then I could certainly appear before them against their will and (allegedly) cause “excessively loud noises”, which honestly I find to be a pretty subjective charge.
I can’t control others and what they choose to consume. However, people do seem to forget that just because they can flee the scene whenever I’m shouting one of my solid takes doesn’t mean I can’t also chase them wherever they’re going. I mean, I’m in my car for a reason.
Sure, I might be another blogging quitter, but I’m more than just another blogging failure statistic. I’m a relentlessly loud woman disturbing the peace and may also need some more money for gas and court fees, so if there are any editors currently accepting pitches on topics like pop culture, technology, the gig economy, or writing advice, please DM me!
